Dapper,
You're right about Vinny. He did make a ton of money, but he couldn't declare most of it. Which raises an even better question than "who are the wealthiest mobsters?"
The better question is, which mobsters can
show the most money?
Using Vinny as an example, he and his family lived right around the corner from me on Revere Avenue, in a nice, modest house, with a beautiful view of the Long Island Sound. But it wasn't anything that a moderately successful "working guy" couldn't have afforded. It makes you appreciate the genius of guys like Tommy Gambino all the more. He raised his kids in a Park Avenue apartment worthy of the Astors or the Vanderbilts.
Or to use a more modern example, look at Steve Crea or any of the Di Napoli brothers. These guys live large in palatial homes in Westchester (Pelham and Scarsdale respectively). They can live that way because they were prudent enough to show their money through their construction rackets. I guess Vinny could only declare so much money though "Hello Gorgeous."
But in all fairness to Vinny, it's a lot easier to funnel sizeable amounts of cash through large construction companies than through an independent beauty parlor in Throggs Neck.
that house of vinny is that the same house next to the water that he was constructing? the one where cicale was saying that vinny wanted to whack the contractor cause he messed up the house or soemthing like that, here it is:
"A young gangster was marked for death after botching work on former Bonanno boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano's waterfront mansion, a mob rat testified Tuesday.
Government witness Dominick Cicale told jurors victim Randolph Pizzolo did a good job excavating the Schurz Ave. site in the Bronx, but then bit off more than he could chew with the rest of the project: He forgot to hook up French drains in the foundation.
"Vinny was very angry, especially because one of the houses was his," Cicale said on the stand in Brooklyn Federal Court. Then bricklayers made a mess of the white brick. "It was horrible; Vinny had a fit," Cicale recalled.
There were imperfections in the foundation - a barrel sticking out of one footing and a piece of plywood in another. Finally the carpenters were ready to walk because Pizzolo wasn't paying them.
"'That's it! This kid's going!'" Basciano decreed in Nov. 2004.
"We were going to kill Randy," Cicale said, translating Basciano's order.
Cicale tried to buy Pizzolo time but said that after he disrespected the entire Bonanno crime family during a drunken tirade, there was no saving him.
Soon after, Basciano was arrested for racketeering and murder but his order remained in place with successor Michael Mancuso. Cicale put together the hit team that shot up Pizzolo in Brooklyn. He then attended a Nets game in courtside seats to give himself a televised alibi.
"I had to live with it because my first loyalty was to Vinny," Cicale said.
And this is the coded message Basciano received to let him know the job was done: "'[Mancuso] had me take care of the footings and foundations.' I knew Vinny would relate that to Randy Pizzolo," Cicale said"
http://fivefamiliesnyc.blogspot.com/2011/05/gangster-was-rubbed-out-after-botching.html
